Rowan and Annabel: Their journey through Hogwarts
by charlottefran
Summary: Another Harry Potter love story involving the meeting of Rowan and Annabel and the telling of their story throughout Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.   Disclaimer: I do not own Hogwarts or any of the characters in this story apart from my own.
1. Chapter 1

RPOV

I looked up at my Mother nervously then glanced back at the solid brick wall in front of me.  
>"Go on," she said with a reassuring smile.<br>I gripped the handle of the trolley harder, took a deep breath and ran. Just as I was about to hit the wall I squeezed my eyes shut tight, waiting for the impact. When I didn't hit anything I slowed down and opened my eyes. The platform was crowded, full of people, owls, cats and rats. I looked behind me nervously to see my mother and brother walk calmly through the wall. I don't think I'll ever get used to running through a brick wall.  
>My brother, Henry, was in his third year at Hogwarts, whereas I was starting my first year.<br>I stood on my toes, try to find my best friend, who was also starting his first year at Howarts. We'd known each other since we were little due to our mothers, who were also best friends that met at Hogwarts. At least I wouldn't be going through this alone.  
>"There's Harry Potter," Henry told me, pointing at a small boy with glasses and the legendary scar hiding underneath his messy black hair. He was standing with another boy, about the same height but with ginger hair. Another girl joined them and they both grinned and hugged her tightly. From where I was standing it looked like they didn't get to see each other often. Harry was with another woman, presumably the ginger boy's mother, and she seemed to mother him as she would her own children. Why wasn't Harry's family with him? Surely someone would have looked after him after his parents were murdered by you-know-who.<br>Just then I felt a flick on the back of my head. I turned around to see Samuel standing there grinning, so I flicked him back on the nose and grinned back.  
>"Ow! I didn't do it that hard!" he cried.<br>"You're not even on the train yet and you're already play fighting," his mother, Jill laughed.  
>The train wasn't set to leave for another 20 minutes so we talked about what we thought Hogwarts was like, what pets we had bought at Diagon Alley the previous day and what the teachers were like.<br>I glanced around the platform and saw a girl, around my age, standing by the train with her parents. She had wavy auburn hair, trailing all the way down her back and a pale face. Her eyes looked blue, framed by thick black lashes. She was thin and looked very delicate. She looked beautiful but too perfect for me, the boy with messy blonde hair and a dorky smile.  
>Not long after spotting her my mother ushered us onto the Hogwarts Express and waved us off. I was sat in a carriage with Samuel and we talked more about our expectations of Hogwarts. About ten minutes after the train had left, the girl I'd spotted on the platform knocked quietly on our door. She opened the door and looked at us both shyly.<br>"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked us, her voice was quiet and hard to make out, she was obviously shy.  
>Samuel looked at me, expecting an answer and I just stared at her with my mouth hanging slightly open. Samuel kicked me on the leg, snapping me out of my trance.<br>"Of course," I replied, still not believing that she was standing in front of me.  
>"Thank you," She said, smiling slightly.<br>She got more comfortable around us as the train journey went on. We found out that her name was Annabel, she lived in Cornwall with her parents and her dog, Max, and that she had the most amazing laugh ever. She was incredibly nervous about her potions class because she'd overheard a student say Snape was the meanest teacher in Hogwarts.  
>"I'm sure he's okay," I told her, trying to console her.<br>"I don't think so, if he doesn't like Harry Potter who says he'll like us?" Samuel said.  
>"How can he not like Harry Potter?" Annabel cried.<br>"I still can't believe he recovered the Philosopher's Stone from that crazy teacher, hopefully we won't get any teacher like that this year," I said.  
>"Gilderoy Lockhart's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year," Annabel told us with a slight smile. It was obvious that she admired him, all the girls did, but even then it made me jealous.<br>Why was I jealous when I barely knew this girl? We'd only been talking for about an hour and I was jealous?

A couple of hours later we pulled up to Hogwarts. We were greeted by a large man, Henry told me his name was Hagrid, and he escorted us to the boats. I noticed Harry and his friends talking to Hagrid and they clearly knew him very well from the joking.  
>Samuel, Annabel and I sat in the same boat and we all shared the same wondrous expression as we gazed up at Hogwarts School. It was magnificent. It held an atmosphere of power and intimidation but it drew us in regardless. And we got to spend 7 years here. I had never been so excited before in my life.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

APOV

I wandered up and down the train frantically searching for an empty carriage or at least someone friendly to sit with.  
>It was my first year in Hogwarts and I knew no one whereas most students come with their friends or siblings. I was terrified of going into Hogwarts. I was a shy person and I usually found it hard to make friends. I was nervous about the teachers too. Would they like me?<br>After ten minutes I gave up and stopped at a carriage. I looked through the glass door and saw two boys laughing. They looked my age so hopefully they were first years too. I knocked on the the door, scared in case they'd tell me to go away. But they wouldn't do that, would they? They didn't look like the kind of people to do that.  
>They gawked at me when I opened the door. Did I have something on my face? I started panicking in case I'd been walking around all day looking like an idiot.<br>"Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked, looking at the boy with blonde hair.  
>Out of the corner of my eye I saw the other boy kick him.<br>"Of course," he replied.  
>They seemed nice enough, they laughed with me and included me in their conversations. They asked my name and seemed genuinely interested.<br>I found out that the blonde boys name was Rowan and that his friends name was Samuel. They'd known each other since they were little boys and their parents were witches and wizards too. They both wanted to be put into Gryffindor, but then again who doesn't? Gryffindor has Harry Potter and no one really wants to be put into Slytherin, especially with the dark reputation it's held for years.

We talked about the other teachers for a bit and the rumours of Harry Potter. After a few hours we got off the train and we arrived at the boats. As we floated across the lake we all gazed up at the majestic castle before us. All of its lights were on inside and we were all speechless. We couldn't believe we'd made it here. It was hard to believe we were all witches and wizards to begin with. I could hardly wait to get started.


	3. Chapter 3

RPOV

Hagrid led our group into Hogwarts and we all stared in wonder at the castle. It was huge! I was sure to get lost somewhere. We were introduced to Miss McGonagall, the deputy headmisstress of Hogwarts. She was old but she looked very wise. She was intimidating but she looked friendly, if you got on her good side. She looked like the kind of person who could be fierce if you disobeyed her. She took us into the Great Hall to be sorted. We gazed at the bewitched ceiling as it showed us the sky outside. It really was magical. As we walked towards the Sorting Hat I could feel the stares of the other students who were waiting impatiently for us to be sorted so they could begin their feast.  
>Once we were all at the front Miss McGonagall stood by the Sorting Hat with a scroll in her hands. She unrolled it and began reading names off the list. The students sat on the stool with the Sorting Hat placed on their heads. The hat thought carefully and placed students into either Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff.<br>"Annabel Rogers!" Miss McGonagall read out.  
>She looked at us with a helpless look on her face then she went to sit on the stool. Miss McGonagall placed the hat on her head and she sat staring at us, looking terrified.<br>"You're destined for greatness," the Sorting Hat murmured.  
>It debated with itself for several minutes before finally deciding on her house.<br>"Slytherin!" it yelled out.  
>Her mouth dropped open and she looked like she was about to cry. We knew that she didn't want to be in Slytherin but if the Sorting Hat had placed her there then she must belong there. She walked to the Slytherin table to be greeted by fellow Slytherins that were cheering for her and shaking her hand. I watched as one boy with white blonde hair stood up and shook her hand and invited her to sit with him.<br>"Rowan Matthews!" Miss McGonagall shouted.  
>"Very intelligent aren't you?" the Sorting Hat said to me.<br>"Um.. am I?" I asked.  
>"Yes, very intelligent, your intelligence can give you many opportunities, you will do very well in Ravenclaw!" it yelled.<br>Ravenclaw wasn't bad. They were intelligent, the only bad thing was the fact I was separated from Annabel. I hope they'd look after her in Slytherin.  
>Samuel was placed next, thankfully he was placed in Ravenclaw too. We sat next together, as usual, and listened to Dumbledore's welcome speech. We grinned as food magically appeared on the plates in front of us.<br>After the feast each house were led out of the Great Hall by their head boy and shown to their dormitories. Our trunks and pets were already waiting for us. We unpacked quietly, tired after such a long day. I lay in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling thinking about todays events, tomorrow and most importantly Annabel.


	4. Chapter 4

APOV

Slytherin. The Sorting Hat had placed me in Slytherin. But why? I didn't belong in Slytherin!  
>I though of this as I got up from the stool and approached the Slytherin table. I was welcomed warmly, especially one boy, Draco, who invited me to sit with him and his friends. He told me about Hogwarts and about Slytherin and that everyone who had been put into Slytherin were the best, how they were great and about the pure blood status. They all seemed very kind, if arrogant. Maybe Slytherin wouldn't be so bad after all.<br>Rowan and Samuel were placed into Ravenclaw, sadly. At least it wasn't Gryffindor, I'd be expected to really hate them.  
>When we started to eat our feast Draco talked to me, asking where I was from, what my parents were like and basically anything about me. When we were shown to our dormitories he walked with me and continued to talk to me about teachers and lessons and he reassured me that Snape wasn't as bad as I thought he was.<br>He arranged to meet me in the common room in the morning to walk me to my lessons and show me everything.

I walked up the stairs to my room that I shared with 3 other girls and unpacked my things. I lay in bed and thought of Draco and then Rowan. Rowan who I barely knew. Awkward Rowan. Why was I thinking of him?


	5. Chapter 5

RPOV

I woke up in the morning to find Samuel shoving me.  
>"Come on Rowan! It's our first day of Hogwarts!" he cried.<br>I looked at him to see he was already dressed.  
>"What time were you awake?" I asked with a yawn.<br>"Six am," he told me, sitting on the end of my bed, "It's half seven now so you better get in the showers, get ready and go for breakfast."

I grabbed my things, went in the shower, got dressed and we walked together to the great hall for breakfast. There was so much we could eat! In the end I only had toast and orange juice before we went to our very first lesson.  
>We had Charms with Professor Flitwick first. We wandered around the corridors trying to find his room with no such luck. In the end we had to ask a fourth year to take us to his room.<br>"Sorry we're late Professor," I said as we walked through the door.

"It's quite all right, this time," he warned us, "Sit in the two empty seats at the front."  
>We sat down and watched as Professor Flitwick demonstrated the Engorgement charm on a slug.<br>"Engorgio!" he shouted at the slug, pointing his wand at it. Suddenly the slug began to expand to twice its size. We all watched in amazment.  
>"Now, all you have to do, carefully aiming for you target, is imagine that the target is expanded, shout 'Engorgio' like you mean it, and aim at the target with you wand," Professor Flitwick told us.<br>He grabbed a box off his desk and walked around the desks placing a slug in front of each student.  
>I watched Samuel as he picked up his wand, shouted 'Engorgio', aimed his wand at the slug and then twisted his face. Nothing had happened. It couldn't be that hard, could it?<br>I looked around the room to see that no one else's slug had expanded.

I grabbed my wand and looked at the slug for a while. I took a deep breath before shouting "Engorgio!". I aimed my wand at the slug and glared at it in disappointment that nothing had happened.  
>"Don't forget to imagine that the slug has expanded," Professor Flitwick told me.<br>I tried again, this time I imagined that my slug was twice its size. Just then the slug grew, right in front of me. I'd actually managed to do something magical!

"Welldone!" Professor Flitwick cried.  
>We continued to expand random objects throughout the rest of the lesson before heading off to our next class, Potions with Professor Snape.<br>That lesson wasn't so bad. Some boy was messing around so we got a glimpse of the angry side of Snape which is one side I wouldn't like to be on at all.  
>I hadn't seen Annabel today, hopefully the Slytherins were looking after he. I noticed during meal times she sat with Draco Malfoy, the boy who Henry had warned me to stay away from.<br>I hoped she wouldn't get into trouble. I hoped I'd see her again soon. I'd just have to wait and see.


	6. Chapter 6

APOV

I walked down the stairs to the common room after I'd woken up and gotten dressed to find Draco waiting for me.  
>"Ready for your first day at Hogwarts?" he asked me.<br>"Of course, but I am a bit nervous, my first lesson is with Professor Snape," I told him.  
>"Snape is okay, if you do what he says and follow the rules," he said, a look of amusement on his face.<br>We walked to Professor Snapes room talking about our families. He told me his family were pure bloods but that they had disowned his aunt, Andromeda, based on the fact that she had married a muggle born.  
>"That's a bit mean, isn't it?" I asked.<br>"It was before I was born. My parents are very proud of their pure blood status and although I do think it's harsh I'd still be disappointed," he replied, "Are you family pure blood?"  
>"Yes, but sometimes I wish we could be a bit different."<br>He frowned, he was clearly proud of his pure blood status too, or was he brought up to think that way?  
>"Well, this is potions," he told me as we stopped outside of a door in the dungeons.<br>I glanced inside to see a tall man with dark hair putting some books on each desk.  
>"He looks very...dark," I said nervously.<br>"As I said, he's okay if you get on his good side, just go in and introduce yourself. I'll meet you here after and walk you to your next class," he said with a slight smile.  
>He walked away and I watched him down the corridor until he turned the corner.<br>I took a deep breath and walked into the classroom. Professor Snape's head snapped up when he heard me enter the room.  
>"And what is your name?" he drawled low voice.<br>"Annabel," I said nervously, "Annabel Rogers."  
>"Take a seat at the front. You're on time, hopefully you can continue to do this for the rest of the year. The rest of your classmates are still probably struggling to locate my classroom," he said in a disapproving tone.<br>Not long after the rest of the class piled in and looked at me, already waiting. I put my head down and covered my face with my hair, trying to avoid their stares. The lesson dragged on, we didn't make any potions, we just read about ingredients and cauldrons. It was boring really. At the end of the lesson I picked up my book and walked out the door and, true to his word, Draco was waiting for me by the door. He smiled at me as I walked up to him.  
>"How was your first lesson?" he asked.<br>"Boring," I replied, "But Snape seemed...okay. He wasn't too happy, or too angry either."  
>"I told you he was okay if you did what he asked."<p>

For the rest of the day he walked me to my classes and sat with me when we had our meals. In the evening he shows me around the castle grounds before leaving me to go to bed. I hoped every day would be like today. Slytherin wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.


End file.
